The Set Up.

I was looking forward to getting home from work last night with my new spider gear, what's the point of a hobby if you can't mess about with new stuff?

I started by modifying the sling pot. I took the pot, one of the feeding vials, a pin, a small Phillips head screwdriver and a lighter. I used the pin to create breathing holes in the lid which will also allow moisture to pass through. The holes from the pin are small so I put lots in.

I decided to locate the feeding vial at the edge of the lid to avoid dropping food and water directly in the centre of the spiderling pot, where I plan for the sling to burrow. To do this I heated the end of the Phillips head screwdriver with a lighter for a few seconds and gently made one of the pin holes enlarged with it, to enable the fitting of the feeding vial. I had to repeat this a few times, checking the diameter with the vial until it was large enough to take the vial yet still be a snug fit. Once the correct diameter was determined I found that heating the shaft of the screwdriver and passing it rapidly through the hole would smooth the edges. I fitted the vial and using sharp nail scissors, snipped the end off.

I mixed the vermiculite and peat substrate (about 70/30), heavily moistened it and packed it down firmly in the spiderling pot to about 2/3 of the way up. Using the end of a pen, I created a depression about 15mm deep in the centre of the substrate to serve as the start of a burrow. I then gave the surface a spray of water from a mister.

I fitted the lid and now had a spiderling pot that was ready to go. It was secure, suitably ventilated for water and oxygen exchange and had a system fitted for unobtrusive feeding and watering. The completed sling pot can be seen below:

Here's a shot from above, where you can see the hole in the substrate to encourage burrowing when the spiderling makes it home:

With the sling pot completed, I set it aside and turned to the terrarium. This will serve as a controlled environment around the spiderling's immediate world, and also at a much later stage a new home once he or she has grown large enough. It is not in the best interests of the spiderling to keep them in too big an enclosure, or they will not be able to find their food. In the wild they live in their burrows and wait for food to pass near them, this must be replicated in captivity. I digress...

I fitted a dial thermometer at the rear right hand side of the terrarium. It will be vital for me to monitor the temperature of the spiderlings environment. On the outside of the terrarium and at the rear left hand side I affixed the heat mat. Vermiculite was placed on the terrarium floor to a rough depth of 20mm and heavily misted. The spiderling pot was then placed in front of the heat mat. The picture below shows the set up, its a little dark so I have annotated it:

In this set up the spiderling will have a warm and cool side in the pot, ie: it can move from one side to the other and regulate its own temperature. I can also move the pot closer or further away from the heat mat should I need to. I will be adding drops of water to the substrate in the spiderling pot for humidity and to allow the sling to drink, but can also increase humidity outside of the pot too by misting the vermiculite.

To ensure there were no equipment problems I switched on the heat mat and left it on over night. The picture below shows the whole set up viewed from the front, with condensation forming.

By morning the condensation had evaporated and everything looked perfect. It's all ready for the sling, I've just got to wait for the ideal specimen to be ready now.

A quick note about the bean weevils I'll be using as food. They come as a culture and need to hatch, so if you are thinking of using them - get them well in advance! I will have to get some pinhead crickets so the spiderling can eat when it arrives!